We could bore you with a made up, and probably much better story, but truth be told, a bunch of bored college guys with nothing better to do decided that they would create a clothing brand. Why? Because we could... that and there was a guy in the next dorm making a ton of money by selling t-shirts with logos that looked like WordArt on them. We put our creative juices together (Jake stayed up all night working on designs) and came up with our first shirt. The "Stamp" tee.
The design was simple enough, but we needed a way to print it. We were all poor, so having it done professionally was out of the question. The solution to our quandary came when we questioned an elderly Wal-mart employee... "acrylic paint and textile medium applied with a foam roller over a stencil will do you just fine," she said. "Great" we said, and we were on our way. Three hours and two bloody fingers later, the first shirt was printed on top of our dorm room dresser in J102.
"It was all downhill from there" as they say. Once people saw us on campus with our shirts, everybody had to have one. Order forms were printed and the demand for our shirts went through the roof! The next three years were spent contemplating how we could sell our products to a mass market...and yes that does make us the best set of procrastinators east of the Mississippi. This website is the culmination of our ideas and the product of our persistence. Enjoy!
Now the answer to the question you have all been waiting for... why an emu? The answer... we have no idea, and we suggest if you have a good one you send it our way. Honestly our goal when trying to think of an icon was to come up with the most awkward, abstract, and unattractive thing we could think of, and then make it "cool." We haven't reached the ultimate level of "cool" yet, but we are well on our way and according to our predictions the brand will reach the "super cool" mark right around March of next year.
designer / web developer / insomniac
Jake Bennett is the lead designer and creative director for Emu Clothing Co. He is responsible for designing the t shirts, developing and managing the website, as well as writing all the text you see around here. In fact, I am writing this right now... hi mom.
Jake now lives in Bloomington, Illinois with his wonderful wife, Laura and his hyper miniature dachshund, Scooter. When not working on emu, you can find him playing computer games or watching movies... life is good.
manager / consultant / human search engine
Tyler Krzeszewski is the business manager and lead consultant for Emu Clothing Co. Ty is the man that makes things happen around here. He contacts business partners, manages all our ordering, coordinates shipping and distribution, and researches any possible leads to expand our brand. Whew! Lots of work for this guy, good thing hes polish.
Tyler enjoys the big city life in Chicago with his wife Jackie. When not answering Jake's questions about inventory or travelling across the country, he enjoys photography and candy... lots and lots of candy.
salesman / investor / killing machine
Dave Perkins is our lead marketer as well as our enforcer. Dave is the guy you will get on the other end of the line when you call to complain about your shirt being wrinkled upon delivery. After 3 years in the USMC, intimidation and yelling are a part of his daily life... seriously.
Dave lives in the state shaped like a glove with his wife Karen and his two babies...nine millimeter, and pump shotgun. If you can catch Dave doing something other than working out or being a stud, count yourself lucky... it dosen't happen often.
legal counsel / investor / stud muffin
You remember that guy in college you would always go to because you knew he would give you good advice? Yeah, that guy was Sam. Things haven't changed much since then, and Sam still does a great job of providing solid legal advice for our company.
Sam has had lots of changes recently including a beautiful new daughter and a move to Michigan. This mountain man's idea of fun is a two week wilderness excursion with nothing but a Swiss army knife and a pair of leather boots... Bear Grylls better watch his back!